Ok, so the blackface orchestra at the end is pretty odd. Since the story takes place in the UK (Hitchcock moved to Hollywood a couple of years after this movie), that makes it seem even more odd and suggests that blackface may not have been a strictly US phenomena. It also makes me wonder if there were miscegenation laws in the UK similar to those in the US, where there was a time that mixed races were not allowed to appear together on stage in theater productions or in bands. Possibly more likely though, Hitchcock just saw it as a useful vehicle to hide the perpetrator "in plain sight."

And the ending is a little anti-climactic, the guy just bursting out with a confession. Other than that though, it was a perfectly engaging classic Hitchcock.

The blackface was likely a device used to disguise the killer until the end.

The confession, rather blunt and anticlimactic, may have been the result of a budget issue. I'm sure Hitchcock would have desired another ending, but that early in his career, the producers had more 'juice' than Hitchcock.

anything he does is great

ftxd6r4

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I found it interesting that AH used seagulls as instruments of horror in this flick (albeit briefly) -- and also the foreshadowing of the "falling body" high-angle shot from NxNW in the abandoned mine sequence. But it is a flivver of a movie compared to his later luxe Limousines.

One of the reviews says the actors are probably all dead, but Nova Pilbeam at least is still alive. 91 yrs old and living in North London.

Great movie, great acting, directing and everything except the ending with not only the black face which was used a lot for the period, but the confession... "I choked the life out of her!" That was the killer to the entire thing, but again..something not entirely unusual for the time and MUHAHAHA!..but from Hitchcock?

http://www.porthcothanbay.co.uk/
This is the location of the opening film sequence of The Young and the Innocent.
Hitchcock filmed widely around Cornwall. The association with Rebecca and Daphne Du Maurier Festival have resulted in the Fowey Festival.
Porthcothan Bay is more recently famous for being the home of Nick Darke , playwright (The Wrecking Season).

Absolutely delightful and the acting was very good. Nice story too. I bet the teenagers loved it. Ah, those were the days. I suppose they are all dead now though a couple could be alive.

This is a lovely film -- and the use of blackface in the last scene is straight out of Sherlock Holmes.

This is one of those early Hitchcock films that those with a film studies course or two under their belt like to dismiss as not as good as his later, more polished movies. It's a 'wrong man' story, like 'The 39 Steps', with the charming protagonist and the strong willed woman who becomes convinced of his innocence and helps him, here played wonderfully by Nova Pilbeam. The acting is good throughout. There are many amusing scenes. I especially liked the one where two constables hitch a ride on a pig wagon. The pursuit by the police does get somewhat absurd. The use of black face by the orchestra in the last act is unfortunate.

I downloaded the 512Kb MPEG-4 file. Video and audio are OK.

Good Alfred Hitchcock movie filled with lots of suspense. A man discovers a body on the beach, runs for help, but two people discover the body as the man is running away. Everyone thinks he is guilty except for the commissioners daughter. They must find a mysterious man who has an eye blinking disorder to prove his innocence.